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Gringotts Wizarding Bank
Gringotts Wizarding Bank is a wizarding bank located in Diagon Alley that is run by goblins. It was first introducted in the first book, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone. Harry Potter didn't think his parents left him anything, but found that he had a lot of money in his vault. According to Hagrid, Gringrotts, other than Hogwarts, is the safest place in te Wizarding World. The Philosopher's Stone was held there, before it was moved to Hogwarts, in the vault 317. One can exchange Muggle money for wizarding money; such as Sickles, Knuts, and Galleons, there. Bill Weasley works for Gringotts as a curse breaker in Egypt. * Employees: Goblins including Griphook PS Ch.5, and Ragnok, who may or may not be the President; Bill Weasley and Fleur Delacour * Descriptions: This snowy-white building towers over neighbouring shops. Customers pass through a set of bronze doors and then silver ones before entering the lobby. The main floor is paved with marble and has long counters stretching along its length. The vaults are miles below, accessible through rough stone passageways and then by means of magic carts that travel speedily along their tracks. PS Ch.5 * Signs: The inscription on the front door reads: Enter, stranger, but take heed Of what awaits the sin of greed For those who take, but do not earn, Must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors A treasure that was never yours, Thief, you have been warned, beware Of finding more than treasure there. PS Ch.5 * Location: A snow-white building near the intersection of Knockturn Alley and Diagon Alley; the vaults extend for miles under the city. CS Ch.4 * Known Customers: James and Lily Potter (now deceased), Rubeus Hagrid and Harry Potter PS Ch.5; Albus Dumbledore and/or Nicolas Flamel (both now deceased); Mr and Mrs Granger and the Weasley family CS Ch.4; and Sirius Black (now deceased) PA Ch.22 Gringotts is the only known bank of the wizarding world. It is operated primarily by goblins. Wizards and witches keep their money and other valuables in vaults that are protected by very complex and strong security measures. According to Hagrid, apart from Hogwarts, Gringotts is considered "the safest place in the world for anything you want to keep safe". It is rumoured that dragons guard the especially high security vaults. There are a number of methods to opening the vaults. Most vaults, such as Harry's, use small golden keys. Higher security vaults may have various enchantments upon the doors. For example, the door to Vault 713 HP1 needs to be stroked by a certified Gringotts goblin, which causes it to melt away. If anyone but a Gringotts goblin touches the door, the person will be sucked into the vault, which is checked for trapped thieves about once every 10 years. While Gringotts is largely staffed by goblins, it is known that the bank does employ humans. Bill Weasley worked as a curse-breaker for Gringotts in Egypt, retrieving artefacts from ancient Egyptian tombs and pyramids.PA Ch.5 Fleur Delacour took a part time job with Gringotts after participating in the Triwizard Tournament, supposedly to improve her English. The Gringotts Bank also offers Muggle-Wizarding currency exchange. CS Ch.4 When Harry first visited Gringotts, he was told by Hagrid that one would have to be mad to try to rob Gringotts.PS Ch.5 Goblins are extremely greedy and would protect their money and valuables at any cost, which makes them ideal guardians for the valuables of the Wizarding world. Gringotts Vault 713 held a small grubby bag, inside of which was the Philosopher's Stone. Dumbledore sent Hagrid to retrieve it while he escorted Harry. PS Ch.5 Later that very same day Professor Quirrell broke into the vault under orders of Lord Voldemort; although he was unsuccessful in obtaining the Philosopher's Stone, the break-in shocked the wizarding world because the culprit was not caught. The robbery was reported in the Daily Prophet, because it was practically unheard of for Gringotts to be robbed. According to the movie adaptations of the series, Harry's vault is number 687. Sirius Black's vault number is 711. Nicholas Flamel's Philosopher's Stone was located in vault number 713. The number of the Weasley family's vault is unknown. Category:Locations